Many have suggested Israel is the root cause of conflict in the Middle East.

In the past I have defended the Jewish state from this charge. I have made the case that, if anything, Israel has bent over backward to make peace. But in doing so, could Israel actually be making things worse?

I believe so. The truth is that Israel has compromised too much. It has not retaliated strongly enough. And its Arab population is the freest in the Arab world.

Ironically, I’m not the only one who believes this. Israel’s most ardent adversaries – the very people who want to destroy the Jewish state at any cost – agree with me. And I can prove it to you.

Who would you say is Israel’s most implacable foe? Would you agree that it is al-Qaida – the terrorist group that attacked the U.S. Sept. 11, 2001, and is now openly organizing in Gaza?

What would you say if I told you al-Qaida believes God gave the Jewish people an eternal covenant with the “Promised Land”? Would you say I was nuts? How about if I told you al-Qaida believes this contract between God and the Jewish people has been abrogated only because Israel has not been determined enough to defeat its enemies in obedience to God? Would it change your opinion of the Middle East dynamic if you learned that al-Qaida believes Israel’s compromises with and concessions to its enemies persuades al-Qaida that it is unworthy of fulfilling God’s covenant with the Jews?

I’m not going to give you my opinion about this. I’m going to give you al-Qaida’s verbatim analysis.

But before I do, let me summarize it for you:

Israel’s “sin” is in not fearing God. Israel lacks the faith to fight for the land God bequeathed it. The Jews are willing to compromise with God’s promise by giving up the land of Israel piece by piece. That’s what al-Qaida believes, according to a report it issued just over a year ago.

Here are translated excerpts from that Arabic-language al-Qaida report from July 2005 threatening imminent attacks on the Jewish state:

God decided to test the Jews when they were still an oppressed people while still captive in Egypt. God seeks to lead them to the path of faith and victory and therefore urges them to conquer the Land of Israel. But the Jews are unwilling to make the necessary sacrifices to achieve the goal.

To this day, the Jews have not learned that God grants victory only to those who struggle for victory.

Throughout the generations, Jews, unlike Muslims, showed that they do not fear God or recognize Him as the moving force in the universe. Instead, they are more concerned with what man thinks.

For this reason, the Jews find it easier to break the covenant between God and Abraham, which awarded the land of Israel to the Jews forever. (Genesis 15:18)

border=0>Zerwat al Sanam

In the Internet magazine Zerwat al Sanam, meaning “Tip of the Camel’s Hump,” the al-Qaida author of this screed, Abu Zubeida al-Baghdadi, concludes that Israel’s willingness to compromise with its enemies gives the Arabs an opportunity to be God’s vehicle to destroy the Jews.

The report goes on to suggest the best timing to launch attacks against Israel to fulfill God’s will. It also makes clear that the real enemy, beyond the Jews, is the West.

This analysis is wholly in line with the Quran, which states in the Table, Sura 5:20: “Bear in mind the words of Moses to his People. He said: ‘Remember, my People, the favor which God has bestowed upon you. He has raised up prophets among you, made you kings, and has given you that which He has given to no other nation. Enter, my People, the holy land which God has assigned for you. Do not turn back, and thus lose all.”

The voices of international appeasement continue to advise Israel to accommodate the enemies who seek to destroy the Jews and Western civilization. It has not worked and it will not work. In fact, as al-Qaida’s warped theologians illustrate, it will have just the opposite of the intended effect. Compromise will always convince Israel’s enemies that it is weak, disobedient to God, unworthy of His promises and ripe for destruction.

And that’s why I, too, believe Israel remains its own worst enemy. That is how Israel continues to worsen conflict in the Middle East, to make escalating violence inevitable, to engender more contempt and hate from its enemies.

How? By not obeying God – by not believing in the Divine promises that made it a nation and by putting its faith in man rather than the Creator of the universe.

If Israel truly wants to understand its enemies, if it truly wants their respect, it is pushing all the wrong buttons.